


Sum of all Parts

by Babykitsune9



Category: BNA: Brand New Animal (Anime), Bleach
Genre: Awkwardness, But he likes her anyways, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Hybrid Ichigo, Kisuke is fiercely protective of Ichigo, Racism, Rukia is a cat beastman, Shirou doesn't know what to think about ichigo, Shirou is too, Violence, inter species relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:40:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25321792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Babykitsune9/pseuds/Babykitsune9
Summary: this is a Bleach/BNA crossover. my first BNA story. Ichigo wasn't one to judge others because of circumstances, religion, background, or race. To her people were people.After some Beastmen attack her school and kill some kids- she is asked to act as a liaison between the humans and Beastmen. And maybe she'll find someone to love along the way? Fem Ichigo/Shirou story.
Relationships: Ichigo kurosaki/Shirou Ogami, Kurosaki Ichigo & Everyone
Comments: 1
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

The first time he ever saw, and heard her name.

It was because she all over the news.

He had been visiting the Mayor to debrief her on his latest job when someone came barreling into her office- one of her aids?- and told her to turn on the TV and watch. Something about a group of Beastmen attacking some human kids was on the news.

He'd paused speaking out of curiosity as the aid wheezed out his words. Barbara was on her feet in an instant, her expression worried as she grabbed the TV remote and used it to turn on the news as he moved a little bit closer to the woman to see what was going on.

Sure enough, the report of the attack was on several local channels. Each one talked a little bit about it- and warned the audience that what they were about to see was graphic and horrifying beyond reason- before then playing the video footage that they had of the attack.

The first thing that they noticed was that the footage was shot from the yard of a school. Whoever had caught the attack on film must have been a student. Because one moment he/she was recording a friend and laughing and minding their own business. And then a heartbeat later said friend was grabbed from behind by a large paw-like pair of hands and promptly _torn_ in half.

Barbara covered her mouth in horror as he paled. Disbelief written all over his human face as they both watched.

Blood and organs rained down on the person recording the event. Their horrified screaming drowned out anything being said anywhere around them as the Beastman responsible for killing their friend began to reach for him/her.

The person recording, turned and started to run. Not once dropping their phone as they did so.

Sometime during their run they must have noticed the screaming and crying of others around them and paused to look around. Things became a little bit shaky for a moment and then steadied again as the person caught another group of students being attacked.

By this point, Shirou could see at least five kids lying dead on the ground in various states of...disembowelment? A quick sweep of the school yard showed several more Beastmen attacking some more kids. Hitting them with large fists, stomping on them and crushing them to death beneath their feet.

There were two tiger Beastmen present who used their claws and fangs to maim and kill their victims.

And then just as several Beastmen made a beeline for a frozen, auburn haired girl- that's when _she_ appeared.

He wasn't exactly sure why the human girl appeared the way that she had. To him it had looked as if she had simply dropped down from the sky. Although he supposed that she could have simply heard the commotion and jumped from one of the higher classroom windows or something.

Still...there was something about her that sent a shiver down his spine.

She was a pretty little thing, for a human at least. Young- between the age of fourteen and sixteen- with long blue black hair, wide neon blue eyes that looked as if they were _glowing_ unnaturally. She wasn't dressed in a school uniform like every other kid present.

Instead she was wearing white cotton T-shirt, and some jeans, and combat boots. Her long dark hair was pulled back into a braid and she had an dark look on her pretty face that wouldn't have boded well for _anyone_ under normal circumstances.

He and Barbara watched as the girl grabbed the auburn haired girl and quickly shoved her behind her. Placing herself firmly between the Beastmen and their chosen prey.

"I'm only going to say this once," She shouted, getting the attention of several of the other Beastmen attacking some of the other kids. "So the lot of you should pay close attention- leave now! Walk out of here on your own, or you'll be carried out in bags!"

They saw the girl behind her clutch her shoulder in fear as several of the Beastmen laughed. Obviously not seeing the human girl as much of a threat considering the damage that they had done to so many others already.

Shirou grit his teeth and watched, obviously thinking that the girl was going to die, when all of a sudden there was a slight shift in her demeanor and in the blink of an eye she had torn the Beastman in front of her to pieces.

It happened so quickly that it was literally a blur of movement even to _his_ sharp eyes. Beside him he heard Barbara let out a weird little sound but the girl on the TV had his rapt attention as she went about fighting, and beating the holy hell out of the other Beastmen.

Only resorting to killing them when she didn't seem to have a choice otherwise.

_"You should know better than to mess with a guardian's charges."_ The girl said as the video ended with one final shot of her.

She was injured and bloody, due to being clawed and bitten a couple of times- being helped from the school yard by the auburn haired female that she had protected before. The two were surrounded by several other survivors of the attack.

Each one of the kids looking pale, shocked and badly rattled by their near death experience as they helped the auburn haired girl help her friend.

Switching back to the news anchor, the woman wiped the tears from her face and took a moment to steel herself before saying, "The footage just seen was of the Beastmen attack on Karakura High school. The survivors of the incident are all currently being treated at Mercy Hospital. While authorities are working to retrieve some of the pieces of the murdered student's bodies."

"In some related news, some of the victims have been identified as-" There was a list of names that appeared on the screen next to photo's of the kids. The injured, the dead, and the survivors that witnessed the tragedy unfold outside of the school.

But there was only one name and face that interested Shirou.

_Hers._


	2. Chapter 2

The political backlash from the Beastman attack on the school students was beyond _staggering_. As it was Anima City and it's politicians began to feel the brunt of it within an hour of the news report.

And it would be weeks before anything even calmed in the slightest.

Humans were calling for the blood of the remaining, living Beastman whom had participated in the event. And Barbra was working herself nearly to death to bring them home to stand trial for their breach in the treaty- which had had to be carefully salvaged and renegotiated- between their two people and to stand trial for the unprovoked attack on the children as well.

To say that many weren't taking the news of Beastmen attacking innocent school kids, _well_. Would be a gross overstatement. Everyone was up in arms over what had happened. The human's. The people of Anima City.

The politicians and the Japanese government. They were lucky that most of the citizens of Anima City were actually peaceful otherwise there would have been rioting in the streets days ago.

And just when it seemed as if she wouldn't be able to prevent the human's from just _taking_ their pound of flesh- she appeared on the news again.

This time placing herself between the outraged public and the Beastman that had caused so much pain and suffering.

Her words were simple and straight to the point as she walked out of the hospital that she'd been confined to since the attack so that her own injuries could heal. The moment that a reporter put a camera in her face and started firing questions, she got a look of pure annoyance on her face and said, "I don't hate the Beastmen."

Responding to a question that she had been asked just a second ago about whether or not she hated them for what they had done. Shirou had gnashed his teeth expecting the worst.

Before she then said, "I want the ones who attacked myself and the others to stand trial. I want _justice_ to be done, both for them and for the people that they have wronged _without_ more unnecessary blood shed. And to that end, with the permission of the Mayor of Anima City- I would like to be with the escort of the criminal Beastmen when they are returned. I would also like to stay in Anima City for a little while as well."

Shirou couldn't look away from the girl even if he tried.

Not just because she had said that she didn't hate her attackers/would be killers. Though he would admit, her pretty little speech had won her some serious brownie points with him. Even if she didn't actually mean anything that she had said.

But also because Barbara had literally froze in her seat and was openly staring at the TV with a totally flummoxed expression on her face. As if she couldn't comprehend what she'd just heard coming form the girl's mouth or something.

It wasn't often that the woman seemed so genuinely surprised by something that it literally rendered her _speechless_. But that's exactly what seemed to have happened here.

Not that he could blame her any.

He wasn't exactly sure how to _feel_ about what had been said either. And while he didn't exactly like humans- he tended not to judge as much as possible. Just in case there was an off chance that he might meet one that was exceptional when compared to other humans.

"Will you allow her to stay?" He found himself asking curiously. Barbara blinked at the TV and then turned her head to look at him for a second before saying slowly,

"I...suppose it couldn't really hurt anything." Shirou was about to nod his head in agreement since he'd already weighed the pro's and con's himself and figured out that the pro's far outweighed the con's when he heard her say, "But if she does stay in Anima City for a little while, I'll need you to keep an eye on her and keep her out of trouble."

He huffed and shot her a scowl. "I'm not a babysitter."

"I don't really care." She deadpanned. "If the girl is to come and stay in Anima City for a while, then someone needs to keep an close eye on her. And frankly, after seeing what she did to her attackers- you might be the _only_ person who can stop her if something happens."

"You mean if she's attacked?"

"Yes. Something like that." Barbara muttered before then saying, "The families and friends of the one's whom attacked the human children aren't happy that _all_ of their loved ones aren't returning. Some of them are demanding that the girl to stand trial."

_"What?"_ Shirou growled as he felt himself getting angry at his fellow Beastman for demanding such ridiculousness. He'd seen the news the same as Barbara and everyone else in Anima City.

The girl had been _defending_ herself and the other kids.

It was hardly the same as what their fellow Beastman had done.

After all, even he knew that those poor kids that had been attacked- had been murdered- _slaughtered_ , really if one cared to get technical. There had been _no_ actual reason for the attack. And the few times that the apprehended Beastmen had been questioned about their reasons- had literally boiled down to the typical bigotry that ran rampant among _both_ species.

They attacked the kids because they were human. Just like many human's tended to attack them for being Beastman.

Making what they had done not only a hate crime and act of domestic terrorism, but murder. And once they were tried for their crimes, they would be lucky to not suffer the death penalty at best.

At worst, they would be confined within a cage-like prison for the rest of their lives. Never to see the world outside, their friends, or families ever again.

"When can we expect the escort to arrive?" Shirou asked curiously, mostly because he wanted to know how much time he had to figure out the best way to keep an eye on the human girl. Did he need to take an absence from work? Where would she be staying? What sort of arrangements needed to be made?

"In three days," He hummed and was about to start firing off questions when Barbara cut him off by saying, "I want the girl to be close to you just in case. I'm thinking of putting her either across the street from you in an empty apartment. Or in one next to your own."

"Either is fine." Shirou said.

"Maybe..." Barbara muttered as she quietly started working again. Leaving him alone to either stay or leave as he liked while she was busy. It may have cut their visit short, but at least she wouldn't be springing anything on him out of the blue.

Shirou hated when that happened since it shook up his usual daily routine.


	3. Chapter 3

It took Shirou two days to prepare himself for his latest 'job'. Which had included inspecting the possible 'living spaces' that Barbara had picked out for the girl to use while in Anima City.

He hadn't liked the apartment next to his own.

It had mold, cockroaches, venomous spiders, rats and some other things wrong with it. Including some broken furniture and appliances. Things that he deemed were both an _injury_ and severe _health_ hazard for a human.

So he'd vetoed it almost immediately as something that could not be used. Not if Barbara wanted the little human to stay in one piece anyways. He'd also informed the owner of the building on the way out, of the damages and stuff so that they could be taken care of before the apartment was rented out again.

Which was considerate of him, he supposed.

Especially since it wasn't his job.

After that, he'd gone and checked out the apartment across from his own. And was pleasantly surprised by how clean and tidy it was compared to the place next to his own apartment.

It was so nice looking that _he_ was even temped to move into it himself. However he decided not to at the last moment since he was sort of comfortable where he was living right now.

Besides, Gem and Melissa would miss him/interfering with his personal life if he moved out. Especially since Melissa had been trying to set him up on dates for a while now in an effort to see if she could get him mated.

He had shot down every female that she'd tried to set him up with so far. But the woman just didn't seem to get that he just wasn't interested in obtaining a mate. Still she was... _weirdly_ determined. And he was just amused enough by her efforts to allow her to continue purely out of some warped sense of curiosity.

Wanting to see how her future matches for him went.

Walking out of the building across the street from his own, he pulled out his cell phone and took a moment to call Barbara and tell her that the apartment across from his own would work fine for the girl. After that, he returned to his apartment to get some rest while he could.

After all, tomorrow was going to be a busy day for him.

* * *

The next morning-

Ichigo was dozing with her head resting against the window. Her mind drifting back and forth between the attack on her school and the personal favor that Rukia had slyly wrangled out of her in an effort to have her close by in case of even more conflicts breaking out between the human's and Beastmen.

After all, Rukia had assured her that acting as a liaison between the two speices wasn't _totally_ unlike the work that she had done as a Soul Reaper. There was simply more politics involved. Which was why she would be working directly with her friend while in Anima City.

The smaller woman would help her navigate the politics. And give her the green light to crack skulls together if things got _way_ out of hand.

That stuff aside the trip was quiet. Far more quiet than she was used to given who her family and other friends were.

They had nearly caused a riot in the street outside of her home just trying to give her what they deemed a 'proper' send off. In her sister's cases- it was nearly constant hugs and tears. In her dad's case- she'd had no choice but the punch him through the wall of the clinic before he did something stupid. Like he always did.

After that all that were left to ay anything too were Orihime, Kisuke, Yoruichi, Chad, and a few others like Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro.

And once they were finally done saying their goodbye's she had gotten into the government vehicle that Rukia had sent to pick her up and take her to Anima City which was more than eight hours away by car.

Which was also the reason why she was currently dozing. Spending eight hours straight trapped in a car without anything to do or anyone to talk to was boring.

Hopefully it wouldn't be quite so boring anymore once she was in Anima City.

* * *

Barbara was helping Shirou straighten himself up a little bit before the vehicle carrying the young human girl got there, when someone entered her office unannounced. Both she and Shirou turned their heads to see the familiar face of Anima City's resident honest-to-god princess, Rukia Kuchiki walking towards them.

"Good afternoon Mayor Rose," The young woman chirped jovially once she finally reached them. "And good afternoon to you as well, Mr. Ogami."

Barbara's hands fell away from the collar of his shirt before it was totally straightened, making him heave an aggravated sigh and shoot the young woman a brief glare. "Miss Kuchiki… Good afternoon to you as well." Barbara said hesitantly as she tried to recall if she was supposed to meet with the woman about something and frowned when she couldn't recall anything. "Forgive me, but I didn't realize that we had an appointment today."

"Oh, we didn't." Rukia assured the woman in an effort to get her to relax a little bit. She hadn't seen anyone quite that _tense_ since the time Ichigo pilfered a girly magazine from one of the boys at school, out of curiosity. And decided to peek at some of the pages. Rukia still recalled how tense she had been upon being found with it. "I actually came to see you about something else."

"O-Oh. I see," Barbara said as she covertly snuck a glance at the clock hanging on the wall to her left to check the time before finally relaxing some and smiling. "Yes, of course. What is it that I can do for you today?"

"Well, I was wondering if it was too early to begin pushing through some paper work to make the human girl coming here- a citizen of Anima City."

"Huh?" Barbara said unintelligibly as Shirou turned his head to scowl at the woman. "P-Pardon?"

"I know that you heard me Mayor Rose, but for the sake of you _not_ believing your ears, I'll say it again. I was wondering if it's too early to push through some paper work to make Ichigo Kurosaki a citizen of Anima City."

Barbara took a moment to try and wrap her head around the request. After all, as far as she knew the Kuchiki princess didn't know the human girl. Hell as far as she knew- the two had never even met!

So why did the woman want the girl to stay in Anima City so badly? She wondered as Shirou asked, "How do you know the girl's name? And why do you want her to remain here?"

Barbara reached out absently and patted Shirou on the arm since her mind wasn't quite working right at the moment and he'd actually managed to voice the questions resting on the tip of her tongue.

"Remember when I first came here? And I told you, Mayor Rose, that I had lived with an _amazing_ human family for a little while. And one of the children was my best friend."

Barbara seemed to snap out of her funk just enough to finally say, "Yes. I do believe that I recall that conversation." Shirou recalled it too since he'd been present for it.

He also recalled calling the Kuchiki woman a liar and then being punched for it too. Barbara hadn't been too happy with him at the time for insulting their newest resident. And he'd learned really fast that the princess had more hoodlum in her than she should have to hit that frigging _hard_.

"Good. There's more to the story that I haven't told you just yet, but the Kurosaki family was the one that I lived with during that time. And Ichigo- the human currently on her way here- is my best friend." Shirous expression shifted a little bit as he took a deep breath of the young woman's scent and let his other senses show him what he wanted to know.

It was a gift of his. A sort of psychic ability linked to his sense of smell.

Specific scents could trigger the ability to _see_ the past, and some of the events that took place as clearly as if he had been present at the time they had unfolded.

He could clearly see Rukia in his mind. She was several years younger than she was at present. And she was being restrained by several people, and was screaming in a panicked tone.

_"Ichigo!" She was thrashing around in the hands holding her back, "No, stop! Please don't hurt her!" Her violet eyes were wide and terror stricken as someone brushed by her and headed straight for the small figure standing barely twenty feet away._

_Ichigo was just a child. He could plainly see how young she was. He could also see the crimson staining her rain soaked flesh- that she was terribly injured. Yet despite this fact, she stood her ground unflinchingly. Uncaring that she was bleeding. Uncaring that she would probably die very soon._

_She faced down her opponent just like a warrior of ancient times long passed, would._

_"Let go of Rukia right now."_

_"No." Came the deadpan response from someone half hidden in the shadows. "If she moves, I will kill her and then I will kill you."_

_Ichigo grit her teeth and took up a defensive stance. Something flashed in front of her- like a gleaming black blade to a sword as she smirked at the person across form her and then said, "You can try to kill me. But you'll fail. Either way- I'm taking Rukia back home. And I'll kick the asses of anyone who gets in my way!"_

The fight that ensued wasn't epic by any definition of the word, but it was still interesting to see a child- especially a female child- face people so much stronger than herself and win.

_The moment that the last of her enemies had fallen, Rukia ran to her and wrapped her arms around her torso. Ichigo grunted a little bit and did a full body twitch as one of Rukia's small hands accidentally dug into one of her really bad injuries as she raised a bloody hand to rest on the smaller woman's head for a moment._

_"You're bleeding so badly-" Rukia said fearfully as she moved back a small step to survey the damage that she had been dealt and stepped back towards her when the girl's legs finally began to give out on her, catching her before she could completely collapse. "Ichigo, I need to get you to the hospital."_

_"I'm fine Rukia. Just...a bit tired." Ichigo rasped as she struggled to stay awake._

_"You've lost nearly two pints of blood-" Rukia snapped at her as Ichigo's eyes began to slide closed. "Stay awake, you idiot! If you lose consciousness now you might die!"_

Blinking his eyes, he returned to himself just in time to see Rukia looking down at her cell phone with a small smile before announcing happily, "It looks like she's here."


	4. Chapter 4

Ichigo never claimed to be the most graceful person in the world. In fact she was pretty damned clumsy sometimes despite having been a Soul Reaper for several years now. But even so, she still barely managed to catch herself before she tumbled out of the car when the door that she'd been leaning her head against while dozing, suddenly swung open. Almost literally causing her to crash to the ground.

"Rude." She mumbled as she shot the guy who had nearly caused her to fall on her head a glare as she slowly climbed out of the vehicle, rubbing her eyes tiredly while trying to bite back a yawn.

Dropping her arms back to her sides she shook her head for a second and then blinked and took a second to look around wondering if the driver had decided to make a pit stop somewhere.

But then quickly dismissed the idea since they had made it well into the countryside before she'd finally dozed off. And thee were few places out there to stop at to get gas, food, or use the bathroom. Unless you were counting the trees and bushes along the road, that is.

And due to the buildings, and oddly crowded streets then she could only surmise that she was in Anima City.

Which meant that Rukia should be- her train of thought cut off abruptly when she heard Rukia shout her name mere seconds before her body slammed into her. Startling her so badly that she actually staggered back under her friends slight weight and fell against the car hard enough to nearly leave a dent in it before finally coming to rest on her butt on the ground.

"Ichigo." Rukia purred as she hugged her torso tightly enough to make it hard for her to breathe just a little bit.

"Hey Rukia." Ichigo rasped out as she rested a hand on the back of the woman's head. Her fingertips absently slipping through her friends dark shoulder length hair, totally ignoring the fact that some of the people nearby were watching the two of them with avid interest. "How have you been?"

"Good. Well, better than you anyways." Ichigo's lips quirked up a little bit at Rukia's answer as the smaller woman tilted her head back to look up at her face and said quietly, "I saw the attack on the news. You did well defending yourself and the others."

"Maybe," Ichigo said softly. "But so many of the other kids were still killed before I could finally reach them." Her voice echoed with sadness and regret. The tone was one that Rukia was familiar with because she'd heard Ichigo use it so often when she spoke of her perceived failures.

"That isn't your fault, Ichigo. You've got a lot on your plate between school, work, and being a Soul Reaper. I doubt that anyone else would have done any better." Rukia said, hoping to wipe the look of melancholy off of Ichigo's face.

The look of desolation didn't suit the girl.

Rukia much preferred it when her friend smiled.

Leaning up a little bit Rukia rubbed her face against Ichigo's and then licked her cheek. Ichigo responded by wrapping her arms around her slender body a little bit and doing as she had just done to her before letting her go so that she could get up.

Once on her feet again, Rukia seemed to finally remember that the Mayor and her friend were there, _watching_ the whole cutesy/embarrassing exchange. And blushed a pretty pink color as Ichigo slowly got to her feet wincing ever so slightly at the tenderness that she could feel on her back and between her shoulders from where she had slammed into the car.

"Mayor Rose, Mr. Ogami-" Rukia said as she finally managed to get over her embarrassment enough to recall her manners. "This is my friend Ichigo Kurosaki." Rukia said as she motioned to her friend. "Ichigo, this is Mayor Rose and her friend and colleague Mr. Ogami."

"Ah, hello." Ichigo said awkwardly as she tried to hide another wince while she rolled her shoulders in an effort to try and figure out how badly she'd hurt herself a few minutes ago and gave the two a little finger wave. "Y-You have a beautiful city."

Barbara smiled at the girl, already liking her while Shirou pasted on a practiced smile and started to size her up. Taking note of various things about her.

For a human girl, she was rather lovely. Damned near _ethereal_ if the truth were to be told.

Ichigo Kurosaki's impromptu television appearance during the attack on her school hadn't done the girl a lick of justice. He'd expected someone who was short, maybe of average build.

Not an exotic beauty who was six feet tall, and had the _prettiest_ neon blue eyes that he'd ever seen before on a human. Even those with European blood didn't have such eyes. She had jet black hair with blue highlighted tints to the nearly waist length, silken strands. A lithe yet athletic build, a nice hourglass figure that was lush without being what he considered obscene.

Her clothing, while modest by every standard known to man, left little to _his_ imagination as Barbara stepped forward and offered her hand. Ichigo took it in her own and shook it without needing any prompting or needing to be told any silly jokes about how she didn't bite.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Kurosaki. How was your trip?" Barbara said as the two released each other.

"Long and uneventful. If I never have to ride eight hours in a car again...I will be _immensely_ happy." Ichigo said with a small grin. Barbara giggled in amusement at the girl's comment. Supposing that sitting in a cramped vehicle for so long would be rather irksome for someone so young.

Moving on from the Mayor, Ichigo turned her attention to Shirou. Noting with a slightly astonished look on her face, that the man towered over her by a good four to five inches. _Holy-_ It was like he was part Chad or something.

Casting a quick questioning glance at Rukia, she also noted the shit eating grin on the woman's face and growled softly at her before holding her hand out to the guy.

Shirou stared down at her small hand for a heartbeat or so and wondered if he could get away with _not_ shaking her hand. Now don't get him wrong. It wasn't as if he really minded the genuinely friendly gesture. Even if the person it was coming from was a _human_.

No- he didn't mind that at all.

He was actually more curious about whether or not she would allow him close enough to memorize her scent since it was mostly how he tracked people, and _saw_ things anyways. It would simply make things easier on him in the future if she got herself into some sort of trouble.

He would be able to scent her from miles away and immediately see what sort of trouble she was in and could run to help her.

Ichigo must have realized that he wasn't going to shake her hand without him saying anything. It was weird. But she didn't even seem upset by his lack of a response. "I'm sorry," She aid after a moment or so of seeming to consider something. "I forgot that not all Beastman care for hand shakes. If there is a different way that you prefer to be greeted...then please, tell me."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Ichigo." Rukia said as she walked up to her and settled a small hand on her arm. "Mr. Ogami is a wolf Beastman. So greetings are different for him. Why don't you try licking his cheek?"

Shirou glanced at the Kuchiki woman with a small frown.

While she was right about the licking thing, he seriously doubted that- His mind stuttered to an abrupt halt right about there as the girl stepped up close to him, so close that he could feel the vague press of her breasts against his chest as she reached up and gently hooked a small hand around his nape and tugged him down a little bit and then licked his cheek.

His face flushed at the unexpected action and he could see Barbara trying hard to hide her amusement, and failing. _Badly._

Turning his head ever so slightly, he nuzzled the girl's hair, taking a moment to breathe in deep so that he could take in her scent before then licking her cheek in response to her greeting before she dropped her arm back to her side and quickly stepped back away from him.

Rukia clapped her hands together and happily stated, "There, see. Now we're all friends!" And then grabbed Ichigo's hand and looked at him and Barbara and said, "Now we can go talk business for a bit."


	5. Chapter 5

Once they were all inside the Mayor's office and the door was locked to prevent anyone from barging in. Lest the conversation that the lot of them were about to engage in need to be kept just between the _four_ of them.

Shirou watched as Rukia maneuvered the girl over to a comfortable chair and then seated herself on the arm of it and neatly folded her hands in her lap as Ichigo propped her cheek in her other hand and simply waited.

"Alright Miss Kuchiki, what was it that you wanted us to speak about?" Barbara asked as she took her seat behind her desk since she got the feeling that this was going to be both an interesting and bothersome conversation.

"First of all, I wanted to speak with you some more about making Ichigo a citizen."

"That again?" Barbara muttered with a soft laugh. "I would have to know her better before I could decide anything. Besides, I very much doubt that her family would appreciate-" She stopped talking as Rukia pulled some papers that were folded in half out of her jacket. And then got up and quickly crossed the room to put the papers down on the woman's desk.

"Those are written and signed consent forms from her dad. Both of which are dated two months ago." She said as she made her way back to the chair and reseated herself on it's arm.

"Huh?" Barbara said unintelligibly as she reached out and grabbed the papers and began to look them over. Sure enough, they were written and signed. "Forgive me, Miss Kuchiki. But I'm afraid that I don't understand why-" She was planning to ask why any human parent would consent to sending their teenage child to such a distant place. Away from their home, their friends and everything that they had ever known and loved.

It simply didn't make sense to her. However Rukia interrupted her by finishing her question for her.

"Why her dad would _consent_ to her living here? I mean- Anima City isn't exactly the safest place for humans. Especially human _girls._ "

"Yes. Isshin is well aware of the possible dangers."

"Then why on earth would he agree to this?"

"It's simple, Mayor Rose. Ichigo isn't a _normal_ human."

Both Barbara and Shirou stared at the woman as if she had grown another head. Not a normal human? They both thought as they recalled the way that the girl had picked the Beastmen attacking her school apart. Even while badly _injured_.

Which was simply something that a normal human- even while being driven by fear and adrenaline- couldn't do. Curiosity piqued, Shirou asked.

"If she isn't a normal human, then what is she?"

Rukia took a deep breath as she centered herself. She couldn't exactly just blurt out that Ichigo was a Soul Reaper. They probably wouldn't believe her given the fact that Soul Reapers were considered supernatural beings.

Telling them that she was a hybrid might help them out. _Maybe_. Depending on how curious it made the Mayor and whether or not she would demand tests. Either that or it would get Ichigo locked up in some lab to be used for experimentation somewhere. But since she had decided to go this route then she needed to tell them _something_. It was really a gamble either way.

Finally making a choice, deciding on the lesser of two evils Rukia said, "Ichigo is a hybrid. She literally carries the DNA of more than one existing species. Human, Beastman, Quincy-"

"I've heard of those." Shirou said after a moment or so, his words causing Barbara to instantly perk up in her seat and look at him.

"Really?" She asked, her tone taking on a slightly incredulous color to it.

"Yes." Shirou said, "Quincies were considered a separate species of human. _Evolved_. They were said to have had super human abilities that made them an exceptional clan. However they supposedly died out many, many years ago."

Rukia nodded her head before saying, "That's true. They did die out. However Ichigo's late mother was one of the last pure Quincies in existence. She was murdered when Ichigo was seven."

"And she passed her people's traits on to Ichigo?" Barbara asked, looking more than a tad bit anxious.

"Yes."

"And the Beastman DNA?" Shirou asked- well, more like demanded as he eyed Ichigo with a slightly suspicious expression on his face.

Rukia put her hand up and looked a little green, and shifted uncomfortably for a moment before she awkwardly said, "Yeah, that would be my fault. She got really hurt a few years back and to keep her from dying, I gave her some of my blood."

"What?!" Barbara shouted as she suddenly jumped to her feet. "But that's impossible! Beastman and human's don't have the same blood types!"

Rukia merely shrugged helplessly and said lamely, "She has a universal blood type."

Barbara sputtered, uncertain of whether or not to be upset, pissed, or- or just plain irritated by this particular development. Especially since having human genetics rewritten even a little bit by Beastman DNA was rare. Like literally one in a billion, rare.

_Honestly, of all the damned things!_ She thought in disbelief. "I need to verify with a blood test." She finally said with a sigh.

"That's fine. I don't think Ichigo will mind." Rukia said as she turned her head to look at the girl, "Do you?"

"Nah, if the Mayor wants some blood then it's fine."

"Thank you, Miss Kurosaki." Barbara said, her tone soft. Ichigo made a funny little sound and half covered her face with her hand. An action that Shirou recognized as one of embarrassment.

The girl hadn't said so much as a word since they had entered the office. She hadn't bothered to interrupt or try to speak for herself either. Which was unusual since they had all literally been talking about her as if she weren't there. Of course knowing the Kuchiki woman like he did- it was probably a common occurrence whenever she was around.

And yet...the girl didn't seem to be the least bit bothered by it.

_Weird._ He thought to himself as Barbara stood up and walked over to a cabinet across the room and opened it, and began taking out the medical supplies inside of it that she kept for the occasions where she needed to do something. And didn't really trust anyone else to do what she needed done, _competently._

They'd had far too many blood and tissue samples- as well crime investigations, and illness samples compromised over the years for her to trust _anyone_ to take the girl's blood and not and _not_ somehow mess up.

Once she had everything that she needed to take blood from the girl, she walked over to the and moved to sit on her knees on the floor in front of her. Ichigo blinked at her and leaned forward a little bit in the chair and offered one of her arms.

Barbara was quick about her task. And once she finished, the girl retracted her arm and took a moment to help her up off of the floor, startling Barbara a little bit since she hadn't said anything about having some trouble getting up because of her arthritis.

Smiling gratefully at the girl once she was on her feet again, she reached out and grasped her hand in her own and gave it a small squeeze before then walking off to put her things away.

"Is there anything else that needs to be discussed before you go?" Barbara asked curiously once she finished her task and labeled the vial of blood.

"Yes, just one more thing." Rukia said before then saying. "I've asked Ichigo to act as a liaison between the human's and the Beastman while she's present here in Anima City."

"You did what?!" Shirou growled out. Anger rising within him at the prospect of going from a simple babysitter of the human girl to possible bodyguard. Because if he was stuck with the girl constantly- then he couldn't do his job as a guardian. And if he couldn't do his job as a guardian, there was no telling how many people would suffer the consequences.

"And why would you do that? She's a child! And acting as a liaison between our two races is incredibly _dangerous._ Doing such a job would paint a target on her back! If anything happened to her in our city, it could cause a _war_!" Barbara nearly shouted as she slammed her hands down on her desk.

Her calm demeanor changing to that of anger in a heartbeat.

"Please calm yourselves," Rukia said with a sigh. "I did it because Ichigo has experience with resolving conflicts-"

"This isn't a school yard fight!" Shirou snapped at her.

"Neither were they." Rukia snapped back. "And they weren't easy to resolve either. Ichigo nearly died to resolve them!" Rukia shouted.

Both Shirou and Barbara went totally still for a moment as Rukia turned her head to look at her friend, a sad expression flitting across her face as Ichigo thinned her lips and slowly moved to stand up.

Seeming to understand without needing to be told what Rukia needed her to do to help the two better understand.

Once on her feet, she grabbed the hem of her shirt and quickly yanked it up.

Thankful that for once she had actually bothered to wear something nicer than her usual ratty and tattered bras. She doubted that she'd live down the utter mortification of being seen wearing one right this moment.

Standing very still, she let them see her scars. All of which she had gotten during fights where she had had to step in and use force to stop opposing sides from killing one another. The Mayor and her friend likely might not be able to totally understand what the scars represented to her and to others- but at least Rukia knew.

That they represented the depth of her convictions. The blood and bone that she'd sacrificed time and time again to prevent great tragedies from playing out.

If she said that she would _stop_ someone from doing something that they shouldn't- then she would _literally_ do so or die trying.


	6. Chapter 6

_The look of horror on both Beastman's faces was something that wasn't easily forgotten. Both Shirou and Barbara looked as if they would be physically ill as they stared at the scars covering the girl's torso. Their eyes quickly categorizing each and every one._

_There was almost literally every type of scar known to man covering the girl's body. Defensive wounds- old and new. Wounds that she had suffered fighting. But even more disturbing was the torture wounds._

_Barbara and Shirou both would recognize such injuries anywhere. And were sickened by the fact that someone had managed to do something so depraved and cruel to a child, human though she may be, it was just..._

_Sometimes there were simply no words for the evil of the world._

_"Do you understand now," Rukia asked carefully as she slipped from her seat and stepped up to her friends side. Absently taking her shirt from Ichigo's limp fingers and carefully fixing it so that she could slip it back on. "Despite her young age, and her humanity. These scars are a reflection of her strength and conviction. Once you give her the green light to act as your liaison- she will literally do so without fear of the dangers or the consequences...even if it kills her."_

* * *

After that, Ichigo decided that she'd had enough excitement for one day and politely asked Mayor Rose to let her leave since it had been a long day for her and she still needed to get settled in as she pulled her shirt back on.

Barbara seemed to understand that she was feeling self conscious about her scars, especially when under _their_ scrutiny. Despite the fact that she didn't say anything. It was fairly easy to tell due to her mechanical actions as she pulled the shirt on. She was moving on automatically.

If not for how she'd tugged the hem of the thing down as far as it would go repeatedly. Which was a sure indication that she was feeling uncomfortable and was attempting to hide it as best as she could.

Then neither Beastman would have realized the level of her discomfort.

Glancing at Barbara, Shirou gave her an tight lipped, displeased look for a moment. Partially because now he was babysitting a _damaged_ child. One who likely had panic attacks, PTSD, and night terrors that woke her up screaming. And partially because on top of that his protective instincts had extended to include the girl in his 'guardian' tendencies regardless of her being a human.

Sighing at the mess that the two of them had found themselves dropped into the middle of he then suggested, "Why don't I take Ichigo to her apartment and let her get settled in. It's getting late, and I'm not sure if she's had a chance to eat anything yet either."

Barbara, god bless her soul, caught on easy to what he was trying to do and automatically agreed. Knowing that he was trying to help before things became even more uncomfortable for the girl.

"Yes! That's an excellent idea. Thank you Shirou." Barbara said before turning to Ichigo and then saying, "Miss Kurosaki, today has been not only a long one, but also very informative and enlightening. I know that you must be tired from your trip. I apologize for keeping you for so long. And I also apologize for making you feel uncomfortable in our presence. It wasn't our intention."

Ichigo waved her apology off. "Don't worry about it. It's just...the scars are pretty bad. People usually tell me how ugly they are when they see them. I've even had a few people call me a monster and a freak because some of them are disfiguring." Rukia let out a quiet gasp of outrage upon hearing this. While Shirou let out a very loud and angry sounding growl. Both of which the girl ignored as she went on to say. "So I guess I'm just a _tad_ bit more sensitive about people seeing them than I should be."

_"That's terrible."_ Barbara said.

Ichigo shrugged her shoulders a little bit. "People can be stupid sometimes."

"Yes, but to call you names- it's just cruel!"

"It doesn't matter," Ichigo said. "The last time someone said something to me about how much of a monster and a freak I am; I broke their nose."

_"Good."_ Shirou said, feeling his lips twitch a little bit in savage glee. "I'm glad that there's some justice in the world. But if someone talked to me that way- I would have broken _more_ than just their nose."

"Breaking necks leads to needing to dispose of the bodies."

"That's true." Rukia said with a nod.

Ichigo didn't say anything else. She probably felt that the latest turn in conversation was holding her up form her much needed rest.

Barbara took a few more moments to say her farewells to them, and even snuck her bank card to Shirou and told him to make sure that the girl ate something. Of course while she was doing that, Rukia was doing something similar with Ichigo.

Apparently the woman had already set up a bank account for the girl to use while she was staying in Anima City. It was nice to know. However Barbara had emphasized that she was going to pay for the girl's dinner for today.

So Shirou didn't bother to say anything about it as he led the girl out of the office. Leaving the two women alone to continue their talk.

* * *

"Do you know what you would like to eat for dinner?" He asked curiously once they were about a block or so away from the Mayor's office.

"No. I don't exactly know any of the paces around here yet." She said. Causing him to hum thoughtfully for a moment.

"Well the restaurants around Anima City aren't all that different from any of the human ones. In fact a lot of Beastman like eating human cuisine. So all you really need to do is tell me what you would like."

"I'm not a picky eater. So I'll leave the choice up to you."

"Alright then." He said, feeling just a tad bit put out because she wouldn't give him a definite answer to his question. He had been secretly hoping to learn a tad bit more about her. Things like her likes and dislikes.

But since getting information from her was like pulling teeth, then he'd work with what he got and hope for the best. So he took her by a sushi place nearby. They had traditional Japanese human food there that was pretty damned good, even by his standards.

Plus the restaurant was well known for having some _non-human_ menu items for those who simply wanted something else _._ He was pretty fond of both parts of the menu himself. Which he blamed entirely on his wolf half for occasionally indulging in his taste for raw meat prepared in various sauces, herbs, spices, broths exct.

So while Ichigo was getting herself some eel and crab sushi and a few other odds and ends for dinner, he ordered his usual. A raw rabbit meat dish that was prepared in a homemade ginger sauce with a side of fried vegetables, and some rice.

He had just gotten his food when she walked up to him and peeked over his arm curiously at the food, causing him to stiffen a little bit since he was sure that she might say something about his food being raw or gross. He really should have known that she wasn't so human as to really care.

"Rabbit meat?"

"Uh...y-yeah." He stammered out as she leaned forward just a little bit for a moment and sniffed at his food.

"It smells good. Do you think I could get a small sample? To try it?"

He paused for a second or so as the guy behind the counter looked at her with his eyes so wide that they nearly popped out of his sockets in disbelief. He had probably smelled her scent and thought that she'd want the normal stuff since it was practically unheard of for a human of any kind to even consider _trying_ the stuff on the non-human menu.

"I...uh- r-really?" Shirou almost squeaked. Feeling just as startled by the question as the other guy. "B-But isn't it bad for you?" He finally managed to ask, suddenly worried that she might try the raw dish and get food poisoning. Or worse. A parasite of some kind from the uncooked meat.

Especially since to his knowledge humans and Beastmen had different digestive systems. If there was any sort of parasite in the raw meat- he'd be able to kill it with his stomach acids. He wasn't all that sure that she could do the same.

And frankly he wasn't looking all that forward to getting screamed at by Miss Kuchiki if she _did_ get one. Not to mention what Barbara would do to him.

However before he could say yea or nay to her question, the guy behind the counter quickly grabbed an small bowl and served some of the meat to her. She thanked him and took the small dish from him and quickly downed it.

Much to Shirou's dismay.

An actual audible small whine escaped him as he aw her swallow the meat without even bothering to chew it before then asking the guy behind the counter for an order to take home.


	7. Chapter 7

Shirou spent the next two days hunkered down in his apartment thinking that he was probably going to die. Well...die in the only way that an immortal creature could anyways. He kept expecting to smell the scent of rotting meat from the apartment across from his own at any given moment.

And maybe have the Kuchiki woman climb through his window and _strangle_ him for not stopping the girl from eating the raw meat and dying while on his watch.

However after two days of camping out by the window and getting very little sleep- nothing happened. Nada, nothing, _zip_. In fact he just saw Ichigo standing on the terrace outside of her bedroom just watching the people wandering around the streets below.

Which was great since it seemed to help with his paranoia a little bit to see her walking around. He spent another hour lazing about in his apartment before finally deciding that maybe two days of being MIA on the girl was enough.

She'd hopefully had enough time to unpack her things and get settled. Now it was time for him to show her around the city since she'd likely start her liaison work within the next few days. And he wasn't sure if he was supposed to stay with her every hour or not since he had his guardian work too.

He probably should have tried to ask Barbara about that before now, but he'd been worried about her asking about the girl's welfare. And since she wasn't dead like he'd feared that she would be- he didn't have to be concerned about that anymore.

So now it was time to make an appearance and do his appointed job.

Sighing, he slowly pushed himself up out of his nice cushy leather chair and walked over to the table over by the door to grab his apartment key, wallet, and gloves. And took a moment to pocket them/pull them on before then grabbing his coat and then walking out of the apartment.

* * *

Ichigo had just gotten out done cutting her hair a little bit due to the fact that it was getting far too long for her tastes. And sometimes she simply didn't have any time to bother with it.

Besides, cutting it just seemed more practical than letting it continue to get in her way. So she'd taken off almost seven in a half inches of the length. Leaving the formerly waist length strands fall just shy of an inch or so above the middle of her back.

At the moment she was cleaning up the blue-black strands lying on her bathroom floor while humming Harukaze by her one of her favorite bands, Scandal. So naturally she didn't so much as hear anyone slipping into her apartment as much as she _felt_ them.

The thing about being in Anima City for the past two days, was that she already recognized strong specific energies. Mr. Ogami had to be one of her favorite people to keep track of thus far. Aside from Rukia that is.

The guy was a weird jumble of nervous energy, worry- and paranoia? Outside of that he was simply akin to an old man. A really, really, _really_ old man.

He liked being stationary. The second that he sat down, he didn't move again unless he absolutely had too. But mostly she suspected that he just liked going at his own pace. In some ways, he reminded her of Yamamoto-jiji. And believe her, the parallels that she drew between the two were _hilarious_ to her.

Kneeling down to collect the last of the hair from the floor, she sensed his presence before bothering to even look. And when she finally did look up, he had this peculiar frown on his face before saying, "You cut your hair." Which was quickly followed by the words. "I don't like it."

"That's a weird greeting to give someone that you haven't checked on in two days." She said with a small chuckle as she dumped the last of her hair into the trash can.

"Maybe so, but it's only because I didn't expect you to have maimed yourself." He said with a slight scowl as she slowly stood up. "Don't human girls have the weird belief that their hair is somehow directly linked to their _beauty_?"

Ichigo blinked at him before saying, "In some cultures. But it isn't one of my beliefs. Besides, having it shorter makes it easier to take care of. It's more practical."

He got a slightly annoyed look on his face for a moment and then simply walked away.

Ichigo couldn't help but think that that very action was a _lot_ like the American comedian Iliza Shlesinger's 'fried shrimp' story. How the hell was she supposed to respond to him walking away like that in the middle of a argument?

If she'd had his cell number then she would have texted him and let him know that he was a jerk for walking away so abruptly. But she supposed that it didn't really matter any. So she just shrugged her shoulders and quietly walked out of the bathroom to go and find him since she could hear him moving around in the living room.

Especially since he didn't seem to be very subtle about his snooping.

She found him looking through some of the items that Rukia had sent to her to help her get more comfortable. She had piled the boxes against the wall over next to the couch and hadn't bothered to even go through them just yet.

Not because she didn't want what was in the boxes.

Rukia had pretty good taste when it came to stuff. And she always welcomed the things that she sent to her regardless of what it was. She'd simply been trying to relax while she could since she would be starting her job soon.

Shirou looked at the book in his hand curiously.

It was a history book about the civil war. Which...was odd since most kids today seemed to hate such stuff. But that wasn't all that she had in the box that he'd decided to look through. She had stuff about medicine's, herbal remedies, biology, science, warfare and tactics- Many of which weren't exactly what one considered 'light' reading material.

And some of it _definitely_ wasn't what one would hand to a teenager to read. A lot of the books were beyond graphic- they contained pictures and information that was... _disturbing_.

"How do you read this stuff? It's positively gruesome." He muttered as he set the book in his hand down and dug out another that read, _Frankenstein_ in big bold script. Having read the book a time or two himself and knowing what it was about- he couldn't help the displeased look that he cast her way from over his shoulder.

Ichigo merely raised a brow at him and smiled sweetly. He rolled his eyes at her and then dropped the book back into the box and set it down so that he could grab another and go through it.

"So...what are you doing here?" She finally asked as he used a sharp claw to tear through the tape holding the top of the unopened box now sitting on the floor in front of him, open. Pulling the box open, he scowled down at the contents of the box. Clothing. _Ugh._ What a typical, boring female thing to have.

"I came over to check on you and see if you want to go out and familiarize yourself with the city." He said as he set the box aside and grabbed the next one.

This one was actually labelled, _Weapons_ , in bold black marker causing him to tilt his head to the side a little bit as he considered the box for the moment.

_Ichigo can't possibly have actual weapons in here. There's no way._ He thought to himself _until_ he opened the box and looked inside only to automatically close it again a second later.

Looking over his shoulder at her he scowled as he said, "There's weapon's in here." His tone was ever so slightly accusing.

"I know. Rukia sent them."

"I see..." He said as he expression darkened a little bit. He didn't know what the Kuchiki woman was playing at sending a small arsenal to her friend. But he wasn't going to let the girl keep stuff that she probably didn't even know how to use.


	8. Chapter 8

There was a slight change in his plans to show Ichigo around when he found the weapons. Mostly because he worried that she might actually intend to use them. So he confiscated and quickly went and hid them in the hidden vault in his apartment since he didn't like the idea of the girl having her own personal armory and stuff.

Partially because he literally _lived_ right across the street and could be at her place faster than even she seemed to realize.

Another reason that he confiscated the weapons was that he needed to test her to see if she even know _how_ to properly use them since several of them were guns and he didn't exactly trust her to use them _without_ shooting herself in the foot. Or maybe even mistakenly shooting someone else for that matter.

He'd have to talk to Barbara about where he could go to test her and get her thoughts about this nonsense. After all, he was _watching_ her for a reason. And besides, he was way better at protecting others than any stupid gun anyways.

Weirdly enough, she didn't say anything about him taking the guns.

In fact she simply watched him carry the box of weapons out of her apartment with a strangely blank look on her face that he suspected stemmed from the one of two things. One, was the fact that she already had her _own_ weapons already safely hidden around her apartment. Or two, she simply didn't care.

He was currently leaning towards number one and it was something that he had to grit his teeth and force the growl threatening to escape his throat, down over.

No matter, let her have her human illusion of safety. He'd sniff out any damned weapons that she had hidden at a later date and confiscate every last one of them too.

Once he finished placing the box of weapons in his home, he then returned to Ichigo's and noted that she seemed to be waiting on him. "So..." She started only for him to rudely interrupt her by growling out snidely.

"You aren't getting them back."

She merely waved his words off, the action causing him to narrow his icy eyes at her as he thought grimly, _So I was right about her having some weapons stashed in the apartment. I'll have to take care of that later._

"I was going to ask about you showing me around." Ichigo said slowly. Trying to not needle the Beastman any about the weapons since she had a fair idea of _what_ they had consisted of and she wasn't particularly pleased about Rukia for sending her guns.

She had been sure that she told her _not_ to send her guns. She much preferred either using her hands or a blade. The set of brass knuckles and awesomely wicked throwing knives that Kisuke had insisted that she bring with her on her trip were nice too.

But after seeing what guns were capable of time and time again while growing up- she had found a particular distaste for them. Considering then dishonorable in the extreme. And totally _unusable_ in a fight. Though she understood that there were some exceptions to this.

It still didn't mean that she liked it any. But she had promised to keep an open mind while in Anima City. And if Rukia felt that she needed guns...well, she'd take the advise but would feel things out for herself before bothering to make a decision one way or the other.

Startled a little bit by the fact that she didn't want to argue with him over the weapons, he blinked at her and took a moment to regain his composure before saying, "Yeah. Since you'll be starting your job as a liaison soon- I thought that showing you around might be a good idea since not all meetings with the authorities of Anima City take place in the Mayor's office. Some take place in other buildings too."

"Alright. Was there anything else that I should know?"

"A few things."

"Like?" She asked as she stepped out into the hallway and quietly closed the door to her apartment and locked it.

"For starters, the Mayor will need to know just how well that you can defend yourself. Not just against humans. But against Beastmen too. She'll likely have you spar with some of her most trusted people to gauge whether or not you will need help later on."

"You mean if everything goes tits up, huh." It wasn't a question despite how she phrased it.

He scrunched his nose up a little bit at the crassness of the language that she used as he slowly said. "Something like that, yes." She nodded her head but didn't say anything as he continued, "We'll need to know if you can handle yourself even while being overwhelmed by numbers. If you can't then it could mean trouble for all of us in the future if we aren't able to plan accordingly."

"Understandable."

"And I need to see if Mayor Rose would be opposed to you learning to use a gun."

She made a face that looked more than a little bit pained in his opinion and simply said, "Don't bother. While I may already know how to shoot a gun- I have no fondness for them."

He stared at her thoughtfully for a moment as they started walking down the hall before finally asking, "Who taught you?" Referring to who had taught her to shoot a gun.

She merely gave him a weird look before saying, "My dad. About two days after my mom was buried."

"Why? You were young, right?"

She nodded her head soberly as they reached the building's door. He paused for a moment to pull it open for her and waited for her to step outside ahead of him before following her out onto the street.

She didn't answer his question of _why_.

But then, she didn't really have to given the fact that he could recall Rukia mentioning that her mother had been murdered. So her dad had likely gotten it stuck in his head that she needed to know how to defend herself out of a paranoid fear that the one who killed her mother might come back.

* * *

It took him only two in a half hours to show her which buildings some of her liaison work might be done at. After which he received a call from Mayor Rose, asking him for a favor.

He'd thought to take her back to her place and let her go back to her routine since Barbara likely had a mission for him. But that thought was quickly squashed when she told him to bring her with him. Which didn't sound _ominous_ at all to him.

He looked at her as he slowly flipped his cell closed, "Mayor Rose wants the both of us at her office."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I think she has another job for me." He said, though he didn't really bother to elaborate any as he turned and started walking in the direction of the Mayor's office. Ichigo fell into step beside him easily despite his somewhat brisk pace.

"How are you liking the city so far?" He asked out of the blue after several minutes of agonizing silence. That was one of the strange things about her that he didn't understand. That eerie silence of hers reminded him of an unseen/unnoticed predator on the prowl for something. And it was making him... _uncomfortable_.

Which was just crazy considering that he was a wolf Beastman and considered a predator in his own right.

"It's nice. The people seem friendly."

He hummed thoughtfully before replying, "They can be as long as one is nice to them."

"You mean as long as their treated with respect and decency."

"Yes." He said with a faint smile.

"Hn, I thought so." Ichigo said as she stuffed her hands in her pant's pockets as they walked.


	9. Chapter 9

Ichigo seemed to get tense and agitated the closer that they got to the Mayor's office. He could tell by how upset her scent she was getting. Her normally calm honeysuckle scent turned sour and was overshadowed by the scent of wind and rain. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her what was wrong when her anxiety suddenly spiked and she took off running.

"Hey!" He called out as he started to run after her. Not quite knowing what was going on with her, but hoping to catch her and calm her before she got herself into some sort of trouble.

* * *

_Something was wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong_. She could feel the wild and pain filled fluctuations in Rukia's energy- and knew that it was an echo of her sorrow and grief- from all the way across the city mere moments before she felt _their_ presence up ahead.

Kisuke, Toshiro, Yoruichi, and Kukaku were in Anima City. Which both startled and confused her since human's were prohibited to enter unless they had special permission. And the fact that they had appeared in the city so abruptly set off warning flags in her mind.

Especially since all of them wouldn't be there without a damned good reason.

She could hear Mr. Ogami shouting for her to stop as he ran after her, but in all honesty she couldn't. She needed to reach the others and see what had brought them there.

She was almost at their exact location when Yurouichi appeared next to her in a blur nearly causing her to trip over her own feet when the woman suddenly slipped an arm around her and damned near jerked her off of her feet as she sped up even more. Obviously intending to carry her off somewhere.

"Hey! What are you-" She heard Mr. Ogami shout, his tone colored with anger a a small touch of alarm as she and Yuroichi both flickered and then disappeared from his sight.

Once they were gone Shirou didn't bother to stop running. If anything, seeing Ichigo get snatched by the unknown woman right in front of him greatly pissed him off. Automatically shifting to his wolf form he ran _faster_ as he used his phenomenally sharp sense of smell to follow the two.

Worried that if he didn't at least stay as close behind them as he could, then something horrible would happen to the girl he'd been charged with protecting.

* * *

"Yuroichi, what's going on? Why are there several of you here in Anima City?" Ichigo asked worriedly.

The gold eyed woman cast her a strange almost pained look before saying, "I'm sorry, but _can't_ tell you." Ichigo got a mutinous look on her face that the woman recognized instantly as trouble for her and everyone else if she wasn't told _something._ Causing her to quickly tack on, "All that I can say is that Kisuke and the others need to speak with you about something important."

Yuroichi's words pretty much cemented in her mind that something had gone horribly, _horribly_ awry back home. And maybe even in the Soul Society too.

But for something to be so damned _bad_ that several captain ranked Soul Reapers had to come to Anima City just to see her...

"Is Aizen still in prison?" She blurted out knowing that if he'd broken out of the prison in the Soul Society then the first thing that he would do was come after her in an effort to reclaim the Hogyoku from her. Especially since he was probably still super pissed about her _tearing_ it from his body after kicking his ass. All when he had finally become a god too.

And even she knew that if he were free again, the best way to go about getting revenge on her was to strike at her weaknesses.

Her family and her friends.

"Hn? Aizen is still locked away, Ichigo. You will _never_ have to worry about him again." Yuroichi said, trying to assure the teen that the genocidal lunatic was never going to bother her again. Not in her lifetime nor any others that followed for that matter.

She, Kisuke and many others- whom all considered Ichigo their friend, comrade, and savior- would see to it personally.

Turning her head a little bit, Ichigo cast a glance back at the wolf Beastman following them with a worried frown. Mr. Ogami was still hot on their trail. His long legs eating up the distance between them with an unsettling ease.

Yuroichi cast a dark look at the man from over her shoulder and muttered, "Your new friend is being a nuisance."

"Yeah, I...can't really do anything about that as long as your carrying me." Ichigo said helplessly. Her anxiety going up another few notches as he finally managed to catch up to them and was now running along side them. His icy blue eyes fixated on Yuroichi's face as he let out a loud, _feral_ sounding growl.

_"Let. Her. Go."_ He said. His voice reminding Ichigo of the rumbling sound of distant thunder just before a terrible storm.

"Sorry- can't." Yuroichi said before putting on a sudden burst of speed and pulling away from him expecting that it would at least give him pause to try and keep up with her when she was going so fast. However she was weirdly dismayed by the fact that he appeared next to them again a heartbeat or so later.

Somehow managing to catch them with startling ease. Yuroichi looked at him and then cast a slightly perturbed look towards Ichigo as he snarled.

"I said let her go!" He reached out and snatched Ichigo from Yuroichi's grasp and planted a foot in the woman's side hard enough to send her flying away from them.

Ichigo screamed, not sure which upset her more.

The fact that Mr. Ogami had just _grabbed_ her so suddenly. Or the fact that he just sent Yuroichi flying with a well placed and somewhat vicious blow to her side while running at such high speeds.

Either way, if the fall didn't seriously injure or kill the woman- then the wolf was going to be skinned alive very shortly by the irate woman when she returned to take her back.

And she was going to get screamed at and probably even punished for making yet _another_ strange friend. "I wonder if my will is up to date." She muttered to herself as Mr. Ogami pulled her tightly against his chest and said close to her ear.

"It doesn't matter if it is or not. It won't be used for a good long time if I can help it." She started to tip her head back to look at him when he reached up and used one his hands to press her face against his shirt so that the gale force winds wouldn't make it so hard for her to breathe while he ran.

Especially since it could make it difficult- if not damned _impossible_ for someone with weaker lungs than himself to get their breath easily and he didn't want her to accidentally suffer unconsciousness or even suffocation and possibly death.

He ran for another few blocks before finally stopping on the roof of a building several miles from the Mayor's office, and slowly set her on her feet. Making sure to keep a slight hold of her just in case she got dizzy- so that he could keep her from falling.

"Who was that woman?" He finally asked as he removed his hands from her.

"Yuroichi. She's a friend from back home."

His ears twitched slightly as something in his expression shifted a little bit. "A friend?" She noted that he sounded scepticle. "Do your friends often kidnap you?"

"That's a loaded question and I'm not answering it." She said with a frown. He opened his mouth to say something when a very familiar- and somewhat dreaded masculine voice spoke up from behind him. Causing Ichigo to freeze up as a chill shot down her spine.

"Actually, Mr. Ogami- most of Ichigo's present friends have tried to kill her at one point or another. Some of them have even come very close to succeeding."

Shirou turned so quickly that it was a wonder that he didn't give himself whiplash. He definitely heard some of the vertebrae in his spine snapping from the action. His neck cracked too. Not that he cared any.

He was a little bit busy trying to figure out how the tall, scruffy looking blond, standing several feet away had managed to actually sneak up on him without being sensed.

"Oh... Hi, Kisuke." Ichigo said weakly as she gave him a small finger wave. Drawing his dark gaze to her for a second before Mr. Ogami quickly grabbed her and shoved her behind him in a protective manner as the man- Kisuke looked around for a moment and then sighed.

"Where is Yuroichi?"

"She tripped." Ichigo lied automatically hoping that Kisuke wouldn't know that Mr. Ogami had attacked her since she was pretty sure that that wouldn't end well for the wolf.

Her efforts were for nothing though as said wolf growled out in an unrepentant manner that didn't bode well for either of them. "I kicked her down the side of a building and took the girl away from her."

If Ichigo had been the type of girl who was a tantrum thrower- _now_ would have been an excellent time to throw one hell of a tantrum. However instead she simply groaned and rested her forehead against her companion's back.

The action of her resting her head against his back must have startled/worried him a little bit. Because despite the fact that he never took his eyes off of Kisuke, he reached back and gently took hold of her hand and gave it a small reassuring squeeze.

"I see," Kisuke said after a few moments of strained silence before then tacking on. "Mr. Ogami, please step aside. I merely intend to speak with Ichigo about an important matter."

_"I will not."_ Shirou snapped, baring his fangs at the man as he said fiercely. _"I refuse to move and give you an opening where you can harm her."_

"Please, stop." Ichgo said as she stepped out form behind Mr. Ogami. The wolf looked displeased at her for daring to remove herself from behind him, but didn't make any move to shove her back there again. At least not yet anyways.

"Kisuke- please, just tell me what's going on. Why are you and the others in Anima City? What's going on?"

"Always so straight to the point. I often envy you for that quality. But today i just hate it." The man muttered as he reached up and took his hat off of his head and looked at her with a pained expression before saying. "This isn't how I intended to break the news to you kid. I had wanted to do this privately because I know how you feel about being seen in moment's of emotional weakness. But this needs to be done and I can't stand around all day arguing with your interesting new friend."

He said as he took a deep shuddering breath, looking as if he were about to cry as he continued to speak. "The following people; Byakuya Kuchiki, Yamachika, Rangiku, Soi Fon, and...Isshin Kurosaki have been found dead as of late yesterday evening." He faltered for a moment and swallowed past the lump in his throat. "I-It is believed that they were _murdered_ for information on you and your whereabouts."

Shirou jerked as if he'd been slapped and quickly tried to digest the news that the man had come to relay, allowing Kisuke enough time to move forward and grab Ichigo. His arms wrapping around the girl's body as he pressed her face against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, oh god kid- _I'm so damned sorry_!" Kisuke choked out as he held the shocked and despondent girl just a little bit tighter.


	10. Chapter 10

After seeing how badly Ichigo had reacted to the news of the deaths that her acquaintance had brought to her, Shirou was quick to call Mayor Rose and tell her that he couldn't come for his newest mission just yet. And Ichigo _couldn't_ come to her office at all.

Though he didn't bother to elaborate on the reasons why. Barbara seemed to understand by his insistence that something was wrong either with himself or the girl. And since he was immortal- something being wrong with the girl seemed far more likely. So she merely told him to keep her informed and hung up.

Flipping his cell closed, he turned his attention back to the two.

The man- Kisuke had sank to his knees several moments ago and had taken the girl down with him. At present he had curled himself around her body and was just rocking back and forth crying quietly. While Ichigo seemed to be in a catatonic state at the moment from the dreadful shock she had just received.

Which left him and Kisuke more or less _alone_ since he doubted that Ichigo was actually paying any attention to them at the moment. Shifting back to his human form, he slowly walked over to where they were and squatted down in front of the blond and asked, "What happened?"

Kisuke paused in his rocking and lifted his head for a moment, his expression one of agony that seemed to close off and turn to stone with anger and rage as he spat. _"Fucking Aizen."_

And then took a moment to glance back down at the girl. Taking a second to smooth her dark hair back from her face in an affectionate manner that nearly set Shirou's teeth on edge as he slowly asked, "Who is Aizen?" Deciding that the more information he had, the more prepared he could be later on in regards to whether the person mentioned ever showed his face in Anima City.

"A monster. A crazy, deranged, psychotic, delusional, murderous _monster_." Kisuke snarled as he shifted his hold on Ichigo ever so slightly, causing the girl's head to rest against his chest, directly over his heart. His fingers tangled in the girl's hair and he hugged her as tightly as he dared while he ranted.

"It's all Aizen's fucking fault," He said again, "I should have _killed_ the bastard the last time I saw him. I should have _slaughtered_ him while he was weak and paralyzed with terror and unable to move or defend himself." He snarled savagely as his dark eyes burned into Shirou's own.

"He deserves it for all the pain, horror, suffering and death that he's dealt to Ichigo and the other kids!" Shirou blinked at the word, kids, not totally understanding at first. But the second he did, he was ready to snarl in outrage and hatred of such a depraved being.

"He had a hand in killing Ichigo's mother, Misaki. He nearly even succeeded in having Rukia executed. He even kidnapped Orihime and _experimented_ on her. Orihime for crying out loud! She's the most defenseless, and sweetest natured person that I've ever known!"

Shirou had an incredibly difficult time keeping his expression blank the more that he listened to the grieving man recount Aizen's crimes to him. Though he was somewhat curious to know what he meant by nearly having Rukia 'executed'. Especially since executions were no longer a thing anywhere. Unless one was a criminal.

And who the hell was Orihime? The man experimented on her? How?

And Ichigo's mother... He had a hand in her murder? _Seriously?_

Though the man had never done anything to him personally, the fact that he had caused irreparable harm to his young charge- even before they had met... Back when she had been so young, innocent, and defenseless pissed him off _immensely_.

So much so that he was tempted to learn everything that he could about the man so that he could hunt him down and put the fear of god into him.

Lord knew that he could actually do it if he really, really was of a mind too.

After all, living for a thousand years had taught him much about the various horrors, fears, and untold agonies that humans tended to rain down on other people's heads. If all else failed, he could simply take a page out of the human history books and literally go _medieval_ on the son of a bitch.

Finally his wrath seemed to grow so great that he couldn't take hearing anymore about Aizen's crimes. He only wanted to know one thing. Where he could find him.

"Where is he?" He growled out. His icy blue eyes going practically frigid and devoid of any warmth.

Kisuke suddenly fell silent and smoothed Ichigo's hair back from her face again, "He's in prison. Ichigo put him there after beating the ever loving hell out of him. It's why he was so weakened and frightened the last time I saw him-" He took a shuddering breath as he lowered his head a little bit to rest on the top of the girl's head. "He'd never been beaten by anyone before. And then the kid literally came out of nowhere and almost destroyed him. He was so fucking _terrified_ of her that he shit himself from the fear."

Shirou quirked a brow at this and glanced at Ichigo- wondering what on earth the girl had done to this Aizen guy to make him so afraid of her and absently noted that the girl seemed to be slowly coming back to her senses. She was blinking, her expression slightly dazed as if she didn't immediately recall what had happened to her.

Much less what had been said to her, causing her to shut down in such a way.

Kisuke noticed that she was moving a little bit in his arms and looked down at her, his expression worried as she rasped out, "Yuzu? Karin?"

"Your sister's are safe, Ichigo. I have them at the shop with Tessai, Ururu, Ginta and Chad watching over them. They haven't been left alone for an instant, I swear it!"

She merely nodded her head mutely and then asked, "Rukia? Toshiro? Yuroichi? Renji? Kenpachi?"

"Some of them are dealing better than others. But that's to be expected."

Ichigo nodded her head again and fell silent once more before finally asking, "How?"

"I-It was Aizen." Kisuke stammered out before then shaking his head and quickly correcting himself. "Or at least someone with _ties_ to him. One of the higher up Arrancars. Maybe even someone else who was closely following his work without him knowing."

Ichigo visibly flinched at the mention of the name of the one who had once again caused her harm and asked, _"Why?"_ Her voice taking on a slightly stronger volume this time as she demanded in a slightly panicked tone, "W-Was it revenge? Is it my fault?"

Shirou's heart literally _broke_ upon hearing her questions. He couldn't imagine what was going through her head right then, but even he knew that if Aizen was as bad as Kisuke had said- then nothing she could have done in defense of herself or others could _ever_ truly be her fault.

Kisuke must have felt the same way because he immediately tried to reassure her that none of it was her fault. However Ichigo didn't seem to hear him or his reassurances any.

She shook her head vehemently and attempted to pull herself from his grasp leading to the two of them to start grappling a little bit until finally Kisuke seemed to have enough of her not listening to him and grabbed her upper arms and shook her a little bit as he shouted in her face, " _Stop it!_ Stop it right now!"

She stopped like he wanted. Though Shirou suspected that it was more out of surprise at him shouting at her like that than anything else.

"You have never at any time invited Aizen and his asshole cohorts to lie, cheat, steal, and murder anyone. This is _not_ your fault. It can never be your fault!" Kisuke said fiercely.

"I didn't kill him!" Ichigo rasped out, her expression utterly devastated. "I should have," She went on to say. "But I didn't hate him for anything that he'd done. I was angry- furious even- but there was no hatred for him anywhere in me. I didn't care enough to kill him..."

Kisuke opened his mouth to say something else, maybe to tell her that that was a good thing however the voice of the woman from before stopped him. "We know that."

"Yuroichi?" Kisuke said almost stupidly as the woman walked forward to join them.

Shirou looked at the dark skinned beauty and wondered how on earth she had managed to survive falling after he had kicked her. She'd literally fallen from more than ten stories up. And yet, aside from a little bit of dirt and a tear or two in her clothing- she seemed totally unfazed by her ordeal.

"There's no reason to blame yourself for the madness of others, Ichigo. Soi Fon and the others were all very strong and capable fighters. Each of them knew what might one day happen to them. _We all do_."

"But-" Ichigo started to argue as the woman knelt down and pressed a finger against her lips.

" _Shhh_. No arguing Ichigo, that's final. Understand?" Yuroichi said in a coaxing tone. Watching for signs of comprehension in Ichigo's expression and only removed her finger when she saw what she had been looking for before then turning her attention to Kisuke. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get here. I got a call from Renji about Rukia-" Ichigo visibly twitched but otherwise didn't react to the mention of her friends name. "They had to sedate her after telling her about Byakya, and she's resting now. Renji and Toshiro are going to stay with her at her home tonight."

Kisuke took a deep shuddering breath and nodded his head in understanding before then slowly stood up, taking Ichigo with him as he did so. The end result being that she was held in his arms, bridal style. Something that must have been embarrassing to Ichigo since Shirou noticed her flush a fetching shade of pink and try to hide her face.

"I expected as much. In the meantime, we need to get Ichigo somewhere safe before we do anything else."

"You can use my apartment." Shirou said almost automatically. His concern for the girl's well being, both physically and emotionally outweighing all else.

Kisuke and the woman both looked at him oddly for a moment before one of them asked, "Are you sure? We get that your worried but we might be there for a while. You do understand that right?"

"Yes."

"Alright," Kisuke sighed. "Lead the way Mr. Ogami."


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn some interesting things. And we also may be having a lemon in the upcoming chaps between Kisuke and Ichigo. Maybe. 
> 
> Until then, here's the next chap. Let's see where it leads.

There was no denying that Kisuke was worried about Ichigo's well being.

Yuroichi could see it in his expression whenever he looked at the girl. And frankly...she couldn't say that she totally blamed him for his concern. Especially since Ichigo was undoubtedly still blaming herself for the deaths of her dad, Byakya, Rangiku, Soi Fon, and Yumachika.

She could tell by the way Ichigo looked at the moment. She had an expression of utter helplessness that simply wasn't natural for her. What had happened to their fierce little warrior? Had the news of their friends and comrade's deaths really dealt her such a serious blow?

Or was it simply her guilt that was laying her low?

She sighed and let her eyes flicker to Kisuke's visage. Her friend had been literally beside himself ever since he had found Isshin's body. Yuroichi knew that he was blaming himself for some things as well.

Not killing Aizen after he had been defeated was just _one_ thing that he blamed himself for. Now he blamed himself for Isshin's life being taken. From having his dear friend stolen from his children and leaving them without his protection and guidance.

For _failing_ to do his duty by the man.

For failing to do his duty by _Ichigo_. Not just as her friend, comrade and teacher- but as someone who deeply protective of her and cared about her happiness and well being almost above anything else in the world.

It was almost as bad as how Ichigo used to _hate_ herself for not being able to save her mother. No- that wasn't necessarily right. Rukia had mentioned that she didn't just hate herself for not being able to help her mother. But for simply surviving when her mother hadn't.

She had told them once that Ichigo often loathed the fact that she was even _alive_.

And Yuroichi knew that if anything ever happened to the girl...either by her own hand or someone else's...there would be many people who would die from such a heavy loss.

Herself. Kisuke. Rukia, Renji and many, _many_ others. They would all simply stop living because their heart was no longer with them. And would likely never return to them in any lifetime that followed, no matter how long they all may live.

Kisuke was hovering over the girl like a mother hen as the wolf beastman finished making them all some tea and picked up the tray that he'd placed each of their cups on and began to bring them to each of them.

Starting with Ichigo.

The girl twitched when the cup appeared in her line of vision, and seemed to hesitate for a moment before slowly reaching out and taking it with a softly spoken word of thanks.

Shirou didn't like how subdued the girl was acting. Granted he didn't know her well enough to actually know if this was normal for her or not, but to him- it felt unnatural for her to behave in such a manner. Still...he held his tongue since he didn't know everything just yet.

That and because someone with the name of Kurosaki had been mentioned amongst those killed. Since whoever it was shared a name with the girl, he could only assume that the person mentioned was a relative of some sort. And if that was true, then the girl's behavior was understandable and she would likely need some time to grieve before she fully returned to normal.

Kisuke took his offered drink with a politeness that was shocking to her. He usually didn't behave like anything less than an utter savage. Despite having manners. So seeing him so out of sorts that he was polite was...well, _cringeworthy_ to her since it spoke volumes of just how out of sorts he was feeling.

Offering her some tea next, Yuroichi took the cup automatically and absently asked if the wolf had something stronger. Like sake. Really, _really_ good sake since she had a feeling that she would want to blackout drunk by the end of the day.

She tossed her cup back and downed her tea in one gulp because her nerves were starting to get to her and then held it back out to their host.

Shirou blinked at the woman's weird behavior and re took the glass tea cup from her hand once she finished downing it like a shot of her favorite liquor. And simply muttered something about thinking that he might have something stronger somewhere and then walked off to check.

The second that their host was gone Kisuke lowered his cup from his mouth and said gently, "Ichigo, I know that this is painful for you. But I need to know if you've still got the Hogyoku since it may need relocating."

"I still have it," Ichigo said dully. "It's hidden where no one will ever think to look for it." She said as she set her cup aside on the cushion next to her with a small grimace.

"Are you sure about that?" Yuroichi asked, noting the sudden look on Kisuke's face was a peculiar one. Almost as if he'd just realized something important and-

"You're carrying it on you, aren't you?" Kisuke suddenly blurted out in an alarmed/slightly incredulous tone.

Yuroichi blinked at his words and glanced at Ichigo, hoping to god that she was _smarter_ than he had just made her sound. Because while knowing that the girl was carrying something so...destructive on her was considered foolish- it was also incredibly ballsy.

Especially since they knew that Ichigo could easily both defend and _destroy_ it before anyone even laid a finger on it. It wouldn't be hard for her to do. Not when she was _still_ merged with her zanpakuto, Zangetsu and was now the physical embodiment of it's power to pierce the heavens.

She'd been left with no choice but to merge with the powerful blade before she had gone to face Aizen for the last time. And had strangely surpassed his power even when he had been in his 'god' form. Leading her to remain merged with it ever since due to the abrupt changes that had taken place within her body that would prevent her from separating herself from it ever again.

The power of the zanpakuto had also sent her into a state of sudden shock and had even caused her to go into a coma until she had adjusted enough to her newest form of power to wake up.

It was why Ichigo's hair and eyes were so different now. Zangetsu's power had saturated every strand of her silken tresses, and colored her eyes the color of her spiritual energy. Leaving it's permanent mark on her physically.

The _only_ reason that nobody ever asked her why she looked so different now was because she was still young and other kids her age tended to alter their appearances with dyes, make-up, colored contacts, tattoos and so on.

"It's hidden Kisuke." Ichigo said with a small glower. "No one will find it." She said again. This time putting emphasis on the word _'no one'_.

"But you _are_ carrying it on you." He said in a worried tone as he scrubbed his face with his free hand.

"I don't see why it matters if I am or not- no one will touch it. Not without killing me first. Now please drop it!"

"Ichigo please, the people responsible for-" She tipped her head back and glared at him, causing Kisuke to stall for a moment or so. "What if they find it? It isn't safe to carry it around on you."

"You should know by now, that I won't allow it to fall into anyone's hands Kisuke." Ichigo said tiredly as she started to lay her head down on the arm of the chair as Shirou returned.

"Here it is. Some aged Irish whiskey." He said as he handed Yuroichi a glass of the amber liquid. She took the glass from the wolf with a grateful smile as he seated himself beside her and asked cautiously, "Did I interrupt something?"

_"No."_ Kisuke and Yuroichi answered automatically. Though Kisuke's expression took on an miserable appearance.

"I was just going to ask Ichigo if she wanted Kisuke to stay with her tonight..." Kisuke's head turned so quickly that his neck popped audibly and he actually staggered a step as his free hand flew up to absently rub at his nape as she tacked on. "You know, for comfort."

Shirou sensed something off about the woman's words. But didn't really seem to understand what exactly she meant. Though he supposed that it was only natural that the girl would want one of her friends to stay with her.

He just didn't know why the woman wasn't asking to stay- it was right about then that his mind stalled on him as he took in the man's expression and then looked at Ichigo. The embarrassed flush in her pale cheeks solidifying in his mind just _what_ the woman had been hinting at.

Causing him to growl as he surged to his feet and snarled out in a very loud tone, "Absolutely not!"


End file.
